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In The Spotlight
Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: 2016/10 - October
When the angels were handing out talents, Steve Johannessen must have been ushered to a dozen lines, for he excels in art, music, photography, computer programming, singing, humanitarianism, and more.
He also has a skill for homing in on heavenly places like his mountaintop acreage facing Whiteside in Cashiers.
Of all his talents, though, singing, that voice that expresses his emotional essence, is the one passion that resonates throughout his life. At twenty-something he was the lead trombone and vocalist for the 561st Air Force Band.
“I’ve been in a lot of musical situations and there’s nothing more exhilarating than singing in front of a high energy band,” he says.
While he’s been in the spotlight in front of bands, he’s also spent a good deal of time behind the scenes, working in the company of scientist and computer programmer Ray Kurzweil in programming sounds for synthesizers for bands like Pink Floyd. Yes, Steve has an impressive left and right brain. He stood in the angel line an extra-long time for that gift.
Many of you know him as a sought-after local entertainer… that guy with the versatile voice that leaps from unleashed to luscious. He averages a couple of gigs a week from here to all the ’villes and beyond – Nashville, Knoxville, Greenville, Asheville, and Charlotte.
Next year promises even more performances, though he reins himself in, saying, “Oh, that I were 20 years younger!”
Catch him as keyboardist with Hurricane Creek or singing solo at Mica’s in Sapphire Valley and Old Edwards Inn and Spa in Highlands. If you want his voice with you all the time, he is working on his second disc, arranged with a big band back-up. It will be favorites from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, featuring sultry sounds like “That’s All,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “At Last,” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.”
For more information, visit stevenjohannessen.com and get ready to be wowed.
